Golden State Warriors stage fourth-quarter rally to hold off Charlotte Hornets

Turnovers did in the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday night in what could have been an historic victory.

The Hornets committed 15 turnovers, including one on Nic Batum that the Golden State Warriors converted to a transition dunk by Draymond Green. That basket spread the Warriors’ lead to nine with just under two minutes left in a 113-103 victory at Spectrum Center.

The Hornets (23-23) led by as many as 10 points in the second half against the defending Western Conference champions. The Warriors have now gone 132 games without losing consecutive games.

Kevin Durant led the Warriors (39-7) with 33 points, while former Davidson star Stephen Curry finished with 28.

Kemba Walker finished with 26 points and eight assists for the Hornets. Batum added 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Three who mattered

Walker: Manufacturing those three free throws off the dribble late in the third quarter was quite creative.

Batum: He was within striking distance of a triple-double at the end of the third quarter.

Durant: He constantly got to the foul line.

Observations

▪  Hornets center Cody Zeller missed the game with a quad contusion. Roy Hibbert started in Zeller’s place.

▪  Walker played after being ill during the day Wednesday.

▪  Hornets power forward Frank Kaminsky played after suffering a broken nose Monday.

▪  Kaminsky was selected Wednesday to play in the Rising Stars game the Friday night of All-Star Weekend in New Orleans. The game is for rookies and econd-year players.

▪  Wednesday’s attendance – 19,639 – was an NBA game record for the Spectrum Center.

Worth mentioning

▪  Hornets guard-forward Jeremy Lamb (inflamed metatarsal) was activated, but coach Steve Clifford said pre-game Lamb still wasn’t ready to play.

▪  Davidson coach Bob McKillop sat courtside near the Hornets bench.

▪  Jeff Van Gundy was ESPN’s color analyst on this game. Van Gundy gave Clifford his first NBA job, as an advance scout with the New York Knicks.

Report card

B+ OFFENSE: They did a good job of getting the ball into the paint, where this offense performs best.

B DEFENSE: The rebounding kept them in this game.

B+ COACHING: They certainly looked more focused than the first half of the Wizards game.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 10:41 PM with the headline "Golden State Warriors stage fourth-quarter rally to hold off Charlotte Hornets."